Favor for a Friend
by Ms. Issippi
Summary: Sometimes, paying the price for messing with the wrong guys is better than living with the guilt of knowing that you didn't do anything to stop them. Maka/Male!Crona, take it as friendship or romance. One shot, fluffy.


**A/N: I felt like writing something short and sweet for Maka/Crona. Take it as friendship or romance. Crona is a male in this. Remember to leave a review!**

**I do not own Soul Eater.**

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The sneers and insults from the older students caught in Maka's ears as she turned to find them bullying another student. Normally, this wouldn't have fazed her. She would feel sorry for the victim, sure, but she didn't want to get involved. She knew it may only get worse and she'd bring bullying upon herself as well, so she usually didn't interfere with the older students and prayed that it wasn't her trapped between the tough students and the cold brick wall one day.

She normally would have been off to her third period class, if it had not been for the student that the kids were bullying. She recognized him when a student stepped aside, and she dropped her books in shock.

Pink hair, black clothes, and frightened expression. Yep, it was none other than Crona.

Maka , though never communicating with the child, was familiar with him. She had heard his brief history from her father, who was the principal's assistant. He had told her that he was an exchange student from Italy and lived in an orphanage for three years after his mother was arrested for child abuse. Even still, the room he was offered at the academy was small and not very cozy.

She didn't understand why kids thought it was okay to pick on other students to the point of depression, or in one case, suicide, but she knew she should contemplate her choices.

Should she save herself and ignore the crowd, but live with the guilt that she didn't help the already disturbed child? Or, should she step in and help him, but risk being bullied herself, beat up, or making things worse for him? It was a difficult choice indeed, one that Maka wished she had more time to think about. But she knew that if she did not act quickly, it would be too late.

Sighing, knowing which choice was the right one, she put her remaining books on the ground and took bold steps towards the group. She could hear the sounds of the victim's fear, and sped up. She took in a breath and pushed one of the smaller kids aside, holding her arms out to defend Crona. Her face was solid and fierce, and a few students stopped to see who it was that finally had the courage to stand up to the bullies. It seemed that all noise in the hallway stopped. "Stop it. You guys are pathetic. What are you benefiting from ruining someone else's life, someone's life that was already messed up enough? What do you have to gain, please, enlighten me. Personal satisfaction? Or are you training to be professional assholes? You're doing a good job of it already." Said Maka, sounding braver than she felt. She heard a few gasps from witnesses, including one from the boy behind her, and maybe even a chuckle or two, but she didn't care. It was her job to protect the boy standing behind her.

She knew there was no turning back now. She had to stick with her actions, even if it meant that she would pay the price for messing with the wrong guys. She thought that it was better than living with the guilt of knowing that she didn't do anything to help.

As the leader of the group began to open his mouth to say something, she heard shouting from the other end of the hallway. Everyone turned to see Maka's father and a teacher, Professor Stein, clearing the hallway. The bright red hair of Maka's father seemed to burn like fire, his anger matching. The older students were terrified of Professor Stein, knowing he had a tendency to try to dissect students sometimes, and dispersed, leaving Crona still trapped between Maka's protective arms and the cold brick wall. Maka assured her father that she and Crona were fine, and when he finally left, leaving only them in the hallway, Maka turned to face Crona, surprised to find him looking at her with awe.

"Y- You shouldn't have done that… You know they're just going to bully you now, too, right?" He said, his voice quivering. She sighed, knowing he was right. But she didn't know how she'd be able to live with herself if she just left him there to be bullied. Plus, she though he would be grateful to know that at least one person in the school cared about him. She smiled encouragingly, hoping to receive a smile in return, but it seemed to her that Crona was physically incapable of smiling. He attempted one, but it looked very forced. She giggled lightly. "It was my own decision to help you, Crona. Nothing happened to me. I was afraid of what would have happened to you if I left you there. I've got protection here, with my papa and all, so I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Was this the first time they ganged up on you like that?" She asked, and he nodded. She hoped he was telling the truth. She smiled once more before gathering her books from the ground and waving to him, not wanting to be any later than she already was for her third period class. But she stopped when she heard him say something else. "Y- Your name is M- Maka, correct?" He asked, and she turned, nodding. "Yes. And your name is Crona." She stated. He looked at her sadly with his night sky eyes.

She almost turned back when he grabbed her arm lightly. She could tell Crona was not a very strong person. She turned her olive green eyes to him once more, but he was looking at the ground now. "…Thank you." He managed, and she couldn't help but grin. She patted his pink head. "Don't mention it. Come on, I'll walk you to class. What do you have now?" She asked, and she received the closest thing to a smile she had ever seen on Crona's miserable face.

As they walked to Crona's third period class together, Maka vowed that one day, she would witness one of Crona's true smiles. But for now, just basking in the friendship formed between the two was good enough for her.


End file.
